Sean, I will bet you five million dollars that beautiful Italian woman with an interest in horse races did not secretly hate you.

I... would not take that bet, because her not-hating was blazingly obvious. Their whole encounter could be a small dreamy sun-drenched interlude in a Zeffirelli film.

You're so very much not hated by anyone, Sean. There are so many people who love you and count themselves (ourselves) lucky to have you in our lives. May the play be excellent and the last leg of your journey as low-stress as possible.

I'm only in London for one day. No specific plans for the day, other than seeing the play in the evening.

The British Museum. It's free. You can see:

• The Rosetta Stone
• The Magna Carta
• The bog man >[link]
• The Elgin Marbles, with the amusing "we stole them from the Parthenon to keep them safe" justifications
• The Vale of York Horde [link] which I really want to see.
• Stuff from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Then you can go across the street to the Museum Tavern, and drink a couple of pints of bitter in a pub once frequented by Arthur Conan Doyle and Karl Marx.

I'm afraid I found public London quite rude by U.S. standards, and I don't think it's really anti-American. It's more of a general "the customer is always wrong" attitude.

The V&A is my favorite place in London, especially the dress exhibit.

I don't think I could go to the Tower again. It creeped me out so thoroughly.

The Bronze Age Britain stuff is AWESOME in the British Museum.

I had a Beef Eater flirt with me shamelessly at the Tower. LOVED IT.

I remember seeing a show on History International channel that had museum curators sharing their top ten Stuff Found In Britain at the British Museum, and I taped it to keep it for future viewing, it was so fascinating. The items were (from the show's Wikipedia entry):

The Bronze Age Ringlemere Gold Cup unearthed by metal-detectorist Cliff Bradshaw near Dover in 2001.
The 10th-century Cuerdale Silver Hoard discovered by stoneworkers on the banks of the River Ribble in 1840.
The 15th-century Fishpool Hoard of gold coins discovered in Ravenshead is the largest in Britain.
The 4th-century Mildenhall Roman Dinner Service discovered by a ploughman near Mildenhall, Suffolk in 1942.
The Bronze Age embossed-gold Mold Cape unearthed by road builders at Mold, Flintshire in 1833 and reassembled in the 1960s.
The 12th-century Lewis chessmen unearthed near Stornoway in 1831 but originating in Scandinavia.
The Iron Age Snettisham Hoard of gold torques found from 1948 onwards at a sacrificial site outside King’s Lynn.
The 5th-century Hoxne hoard of Roman gold, silver and jewellery uncovered by retired gardener Eric Lawes in 1992 near Ipswich.
The 7th-century Sutton Hoo ship burial unearthed by Basil Brown and Edith Pretty in 1939 near Ipswich.
The Roman Vindolanda tablets unearthed by Robin Birley in 1973 near Hadrian's Wall.

Sutton Hoo is pretty awesome.

I loved the British museum, but at the same time I found it overwhelming. So much to see led to sensory overload.

I am in heaven. I have arrived in NYC and made my way to the hotel room, and now I am going to put on my pjs, order room service, and watch tv until I fall asleep.

Sean, I know you're exhausted and feeling a bit fragile (travel often makes me the same way), but try not to let what I'm sure was meant to just be a flippant joke affect you like this. Of course people weren't really saying horrible things about you. You had a fabulous trip (complete with beautiful Italian stranger watching horse racing on the streets..I mean, seriously?? How cool is that??) and have just had a rough day in London. It's true that Londoners aren't known for their effusiveness and friendliness. I think I probably don't notice as much just because of the whole stiff upper lip New England upbringing, pip pip, cheerio and all. Anyway, this is silly. It's all good! Revel! Hurray for awesome trips, even if they have not-so-awesome final days!

If you get a chance to check out Churchill's underground war rooms do so (I know you'd love them), and the many fabulous London walking tours are well worth the time and very affordable (8 pounds). I've been on a bunch of them and always had an amazing time. The Jack the Ripper tour is (ironically) silly fun, and now I'm kind of dying to go on the "Occult Da Vinci Tour!" they've apparently started to offer. I've also been on several ghost walks and loved them. Whee! London! I miss it.

Annnnyway, back to the whole hotel room slounge for me. ND comes into port in the morning--whee! I get to see him for a couple of days before I head back home and he heads back to sea for a couple more weeks.

ETA: Clicky link to Thursday walking tours!

the gladiator who threatened my mother with a sword outside the Colosseum when he misinterpreted something she said and informed her that all Americans are rude when she tried to apologize for the misunderstanding.

Did...your mother *time travel*?!?

(No, I get the gist; it's just amusing to imagine a ye olde gladiator brandishing his sword at a lovely American woman.)

Heh, Teppy! The Colosseum was filled with locals dressed as Gladiators hoping to make money taking pictures with tourists. My mother mentioned to a tourist that they worked only on tips, hoping to encourage them to tip well, and the local misinterpreted it.

Sean, Pix is right. I know how easy it is to interpret things negatively when fighting depression, but I am sure the locals have adored you.